Search engine positioning can be improved by following a few simple guidelines
Whether you’re preparing for a website or you’ve already got one, it’s a good time to check your search engine bases. Of course you want your site to come up on top in the search engines. But there’s a lot of competition on the Web - you won’t get there without a plan.
Writing content for search engines
First, make sure that your site contains the words and information people are searching for. Make a list of the phrases you hope will bring up your website. Think about synonyms and geography: e.g. “photographer”, “photos” and “photography”; “Vancouver”, “Lower Mainland” and “British Columbia”.
Find ways to legitimately work these words and phrases into your content. Legitimacy is important so that both visitors and search engines take you seriously.
Examine top search results
Use different search engines to search for your list of phrases. What are the top unsponsored results? Look at each site’s content, Web site address (URL), title, and description. Gather any common practices from these sites and try similar things on yours. See if it works. Search engines are constantly evolving technologies and each one is different, so it can be complex and time-consuming to maintain a top spot.
Build carefully
All websites are not created equally. Poor use of technology can make it difficult for search engines to find your content. According to searchenginewatch.com:
“Macromedia Flash and other non-HTML formats can pose problems for search engines, unless you take appropriate steps to optimize the content.”
They also had the folllowing to say about frames:
“Search engines have a tough time with frames. Using frames either prevents them from finding pages within a Web site, or it causes them to send visitors into a site without the proper frame “context” being established. Both problems can be corrected, with a little foresight by webmasters.”
Get links to your site
Search engines tend to treat a site as more relevant (and therefore list it higher) if it is often linked to by other sites. Some ideas for getting links to your site:
» Use free Web space to host another page that links to your main site. This could be a more personal page such as your “photo of the week”.
» Do your clients and suppliers have Web sites? If appropriate, ask them to link to your site.
» Contribute to message boards and use your URL in your signature
» Write articles for related sites that welcome content, and use your URL in your signature.
» Link to other entrepreneurs in related businesses and ask for a link in return. Consider pooling resources and making a group site for increased relevancy and visitors.
This just scratches the surface
If search engine positioning is an important part of your marketing strategy and you’ve got the budget, I suggest hiring a search engine specialist. If not, here are some good resources on search engine positioning:
www.searchenginewatch.com, particularly
http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167871
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/metatags.shtml